[Of the Love of Boys, Adultery, and Fornication.]

XXVIII. But we do not say so of that mixture that is contrary to nature, or of any unlawful practice; for such are enmity to God. For the sin of Sodom is contrary to nature, as is also that with brute beasts. But adultery and fornication are against the law; the one whereof is impiety, the other injustice, and, in a word, no other than a great sin. But neither sort of them is without its punishment in its own proper nature. For the practisers of one sort attempt the dissolution of the world, and endeavour to make the natural course of things to change for one that is unnatural; but those of the second sort—the adulterers—are unjust by corrupting others’ marriages, and dividing into two what God hath made one, rendering the children suspected, and exposing the true husband to the snares of others. And fornication is the destruction of one’s own flesh, not being made use of for the procreation of children, but entirely for the sake of pleasure, which is a mark of incontinency, and not a sign of virtue. All these things are forbidden by the laws; for thus say the oracles: “Thou shalt not lie with mankind as with womankind.”  160  Lev. xviii. 22 “For such a one is accursed, and ye shall stone them with stones: they have wrought abomination.”  161  Lev. xx. 13 “Every one that lieth with a beast, slay ye him: he has wrought wickedness in his people.”  162  Ex. xxii. 19 “And if any one defile a married woman, slay ye them both: they have wrought wickedness; they are guilty; let them die.”  163  Lev. xx. 10; Deut. xxii. 22 And afterwards: “There shall not be a fornicator among the children of Israel, and there shall not be an whore among the daughters of Israel. Thou shalt not offer the hire of an harlot to the Lord thy God upon the altar, nor the price of a dog.”  164  Deut. xxiii. 17, 18 “For the vows arising from the hire of an harlot are not clean.”  165  Prov. xix. 13, LXX. These things the laws have forbidden, but they have honoured marriage, and have called it blessed, since God has blessed it who joined male and female together.  166  Gen. i. 28 And wise Solomon somewhere says: “A wife is suited to her husband by the Lord.”  167  Prov. xix. 14 And David says: “Thy wife is like a flourishing vine in the sides of thine house; thy children like olive-branches round about thy table. Behold, thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the Lord.”  168  Ps. cxxviii. 3, 4 Wherefore “marriage is honourable”  169  Heb. xiii. 4 and comely, and the begetting of children pure, for there is no evil in that which is good. Therefore neither is the natural purgation abominable before God, who has ordered it to happen to women within the space of thirty days for their advantage and healthful state, who do less move about, and keep usually at home in the house. Nay, moreover, even in the Gospel, when the woman with the perpetual purgation of blood  170  Matt ix. 22 touched the saving border of the Lord’s garment in hope of being healed, He was not angry at her, nor did complain of her at all; but, on the contrary, He healed her, saying, “Thy faith hath saved thee.” When the natural purgations do appear in the wives, let not their husbands approach them, out of regard to the children to be begotten; for the law has forbidden it, for it says: “Thou shalt not come near thy wife when she is in her separation.”  171  Lev. xviii. 19; Ezek. xviii. 6. Nor, indeed, let them frequent their wives’ company when they are with child.  172  [But if this be otherwise done, it may be well to compare Lactantius as to a question of actual crime. See p. 190, n. 1, supra.] For they do this not for the begetting of children, but for the sake of pleasure. Now a lover of God ought not to be a lover of pleasure.

[28] Ὅθεν τὰ τοιαῦτα περιϊστάμενοι παρατηρήματα φεύγετε, ἀγαπητοί: ἑλληνικὰ γὰρ τυγχάνει. Οὔτε γὰρ τὸν τεθνεῶτα βδελυσσόμεθα, ὡς ἐκεῖνοι, ἐλπίζοντες αὐτὸν πάλιν ἀναβιῶναι, οὔτε τὴν νόμιμον μίξιν κακίζομεν: ἔθος γὰρ αὐτοῖς τὰ τοιαῦτα ἀσεβεῖν. Θεοῦ γὰρ γνώμῃ ἀνδρὸς καὶ γυναικὸς συνέλευσις γίνεται ἡ μετὰ δικαιοσύνης: ὁ ποιήσας γὰρ ἀπ' ἀρχῆς ἄρσεν καὶ θῆλυ ἐποίησεν αὐτοὺς, καὶ εὐλόγησεν αὐτοὺς καὶ εἶπεν: «Αὐξάνεσθε καὶ πληθύνεσθε καὶ πληρώσατε τὴν γῆν.» Εἰ τοίνυν Θεοῦ βουλήσει παραλλαγὴ σχημάτων γέγονεν πρὸς γένεσιν πλήθους, ἄρα κατὰ τὴν αὐτοῦ γνώμην καὶ ἡ συνέλευσις τοῦ ἄρρενος πρὸς τὸ θῆλυ, οὐκέτι δὲ καὶ ἡ παρὰ φύσιν βδελυκτὴ μῖξις ἢ ἡ παράνομος πρᾶξις, ἐχθρὰ Θεοῦ ὑπάρχουσα. Καὶ γὰρ παρὰ φύσιν ἐστὶν ἡ Σοδομιτῶν ἁμαρτία καὶ ἡ πρὸς ἄλογα, παράνομον δὲ μοιχεία καὶ πορνεία, ὧν δὴ τὰ μὲν ἀσεβήματα, τὰ δὲ ἀδικία καὶ τὸ τελευταῖον ἁμαρτήματα, οὐδέτερον δὲ αὐτῶν ἀτιμώρητον κατὰ τὴν οἰκείαν διάθεσιν. Οἵ τε γὰρ πρῶτοι διάλυσιν κόσμου μηχανῶνται, τὰ κατὰ φύσιν παρὰ φύσιν ἐπιχειροῦντες ποιεῖν: οἱ δὲ δεύτεροι οἱ μὲν ἀδικοῦσιν ἀλλοτρίους γάμους φθείροντες καὶ τὸ ὑπὸ Θεοῦ γενόμενον ἓν διαιροῦσιν εἰς δύο τούς τε παῖδας ὑπόπτους καὶ τὸν φυσικὸν ἄνδρα εὐεπιβούλευτον, ἥ τε πορνεία φθορὰ τῆς οἰκείας σαρκός ἐστί, οὐκ ἐπὶ παιδοποιΐᾳ γινομένη, ἀλλ' ἡδονῇ χαριζομένη τὸ πᾶν, ὅπερ ἐστὶν ἀκρασίας σύμβολον, ἀλλ' οὐκ ἀρετῆς σημεῖον. Ἀπηγόρευται δὲ τοῖς νόμοις ἅπαντα ταῦτα. Φησὶν γὰρ τὰ λόγια οὕτως: «Οὐ κοιμηθήσῃ μετὰ ἄρρενος κοίτην γυναικείαν, ἐπικατάρατος γὰρ ὁ τοιοῦτος καὶ λίθοις λιθοβολήσατε αὐτούς, βδέλυγμα ἐποίησαν: πάντα κοιμώμενον μετὰ κτήνους, ἀποκτείνατε αὐτόν, ἀνομίαν ἐποίησεν ἐν τῷ λαῷ: καὶ ἐάν τις γυναῖκα ὕπανδρον μιάνῃ, ἀποκτείνατε ἀμφοτέρους, ἀνομίαν ἐποίησαν, ἔνοχοί εἰσιν, ἀποθανέτωσαν.» Καὶ ἑξῆς: «Οὐκ ἔσται πορνεύων ἐν υἱοῖς Ἰσραήλ, καὶ οὐκ ἔσται πορνεύουσα ἀπὸ θυγατέρων Ἰσραήλ: οὐ προσοίσεις μίσθωμα πόρνης κυρίῳ τῷ Θεῷ σου ἐπὶ τὸ θυσιαστήριον οὔτε ἄλλαγμα κυνός: οὐ γὰρ ἁγναί, φησίν, εὐχαὶ ἐκ μισθώματος ἑταίρας.» Ταῦτα μὲν ἀπηγόρευσαν οἱ νόμοι, τὸν δὲ γάμον ἐσέμνυναν, εὐλογημένον αὐτὸν ἀποκαλέσαντες, ἐπειδὴ καὶ εὐλόγησεν αὐτὸν ὁ Θεὸς ὁ συζεύξας τὸ θῆλυ τῷ ἄρρενι. Λέγει δέ που καὶ ὁ σοφὸς Σολομών: «Παρὰ Κυρίου ἁρμόζεται γυνὴ ἀνδρί.» Καὶ ὁ Δαυὶδ λέγει: «Ἡ γυνή σου ὡς ἄμπελος εὐθηνοῦσα ἐν τοῖς κλίτεσι τῆς οἰκίας σου, οἱ υἱοί σου ὡς νεόφυτα ἐλαιῶν κύκλῳ τῆς τραπέζης σου: ἰδοὺ οὕτως εὐλογηθήσεται ἄνθρωπος ὁ φοβούμενος τὸν Κύριον.» Οὐκοῦν ὁ γάμος τίμιος καὶ σεμνὸς καὶ ἡ τῶν παίδων γένεσις καθαρά: οὐδὲν γὰρ κακὸν ἐν τῷ καλῷ ὑπάρχει. Οὔτε οὖν ἡ φυσικὴ κάθαρσις βδελυκτὴ Θεῷ, ὃς αὐτὴν ᾠκονόμησεν συμβαίνειν γυναιξὶν ἐν τριακονθημέρῳ συστάσεως χάριν καὶ εὐρῳστίας ἀκινητοτέραις ὑπαρχούσαις, ἅτε ἐν οἰκίᾳ καθημέναις τὸ πλεῖον. Οὐ μὴν δὲ ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐν τῷ Εὐαγγελίῳ ὁ Κύριος, τῆς αἱμορροούσης ἁψαμένης τοῦ σωτηρίου κρασπέδου ὑγείας χάριν, οὐκ ἠχθέσθη ἐπ' αὐτῇ, οὔτε μὴν ὅλως ᾐτιάσατο, τοὐναντίον δὲ καὶ ἰάσατο αὐτὴν φήσας: «Ἡ πίστις σου σέσωκέν σε.» Καὶ φυσικῶν μὲν φαινομένων ταῖς γυναιξὶν οἱ ἄνδρες μὴ συνερχέσθωσαν προνοίας ἕνεκεν τῶν γεννωμένων: ἀπεῖπεν γὰρ ὁ Νόμος: «Πρὸς γυναῖκα γάρ, φησίν, ἐν ἀφέδρῳ οὖσαν οὐ προσεγγιεῖς.» Μήτε μὴν ἐγκυμονούσαις ὁμιλείτωσαν αὐταῖς: οὐκ ἐπὶ παίδων γὰρ γενέσει τοῦτο ποιοῦσιν, ἀλλ' ἡδονῆς χάριν, οὐ δεῖ δὲ φιλήδονον τὸν φιλόθεον ὑπάρχειν.