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Contra eos qui subintroductas habent virgines

INSTRUCTION AND REPROOF AGAINST THOSE WHO HAVE VIRGINS LIVING WITH THEM

In the time of our forefathers, there were two pretexts which caused women to cohabit with men; one was that of marriage, both ancient and just and reasonable, inasmuch as it has God for its lawgiver; "For this cause," it says, "shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave to his wife, and they two shall be one flesh;" but the other was that of fornication, both more recent than this and unjust and unlawful, inasmuch as it was introduced by wicked demons. But in our generation a third way has been devised, a certain new and strange one, and having much perplexity for those wishing to find its cause. For there are some who, without marriage and intercourse, take unmarried maidens and set them up at home for all time, and shut them up with themselves until extreme old age, neither for the begetting of children—for they say they do not have relations with them—nor out of licentiousness—for they say they keep them inviolate; but if anyone asks the reason, they have many and have practiced them, but not a single one, as I think, is reasonable or honorable. But not yet about these things, nor let us for the time being state their pretexts, but let us bring into the open the one which we ourselves most suspect it to be. What then is this? And in any case, if I should miss the mark, it is possible for those of you who wish to take me to task. What then is the pretext? It seems to me that cohabiting with women has a certain pleasure, not only by the law of marriage, but also without marriage and intercourse. And if I do not seem right, I have nothing to say; for for the time being I relate to you my own opinion; and perhaps not only my own, but also that of those men themselves. For that it seems so to them too is clear from this. For they would not have scorned so great a reputation and so many scandals, if the pleasure of this cohabitation were not some vehement and tyrannical one. And if some should be displeased at our saying these things, I will ask them to bear with us, and not to be indignant; for not willingly nor simply did I choose to undertake this enmity; I am not so wretched and miserable as to wish to offend everyone at random; but I am exceedingly pained and grieved seeing both the glory of God being insulted, and the salvation of the many gradually ebbing away on account of this pleasure. For that this is pleasant and holds a keener desire than cohabiting by the law of marriage, now perhaps you are even disturbed to hear, but after the proof you yourselves will also agree. For in the case of a lawful wife, intercourse being unhindered has both soothed desire and often brought the husband to satiety, and has destroyed vehement lust. And apart from these things, both labor pains and childbirths and begetting children and raising children, and the constant illnesses that follow from these, besieging the body and withering the flower of its prime, make the goad of pleasure weaker. But in the case of the virgin, none of these things is present; for there is neither intercourse able to relax and bring down the gadfly of nature, nor labor pains and child-rearing withering the flesh, but they preserve their prime for a long time, inasmuch as they remain untouched.

From this, the bodies of married women after childbirth and child-rearing become weaker, but these others remain even into their fortieth year competing with virgins kept in their chambers; whence the things of lust are doubly aroused for those cohabiting with them, both by not being allowed to soothe their desire with intercourse, and by the basis of their desire remaining stronger for a long time. This I suspect to be the pretext for this cohabitation. But let us not be indignant towards them nor displeased; for no one the one who is sick

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Contra eos qui subintroductas habent virgines

∆Ι∆ΑΣΚΑΛΙΑ ΚΑΙ ΕΛΕΓΧΟΣ ΠΡΟΣ ΤΟΥΣ ΕΧΟΝΤΑΣ ΣΥΝΕΙΣΑΚΤΟΥΣ

Ἐπὶ μὲν τῶν προγόνων τῶν ἡμετέρων δύο τινὲς ἦσαν προφάσεις αἱ τὰς γυναῖκας συγκατοικίζουσαι τοῖς ἀνδράσι· μία μὲν ἡ τοῦ γάμου, ἀρχαία τε καὶ δικαία καὶ εὔλογος, ἅτε τὸν Θεὸν ἔχουσα νομοθέτην· «Ἀντὶ γὰρ τούτου καταλείψει, φησὶν, ἄνθρωπος τὸν πατέρα αὐτοῦ καὶ τὴν μητέρα αὐτοῦ, καὶ προσκολληθήσεται πρὸς τὴν γυναῖκα αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἔσονται οἱ δύο εἰς σάρκα μίαν·» ἑτέρα δὲ ἡ τῆς πορνείας, καὶ νεωτέρα ταύτης καὶ ἄδικος καὶ παράνομος, ἅτε παρὰ τῶν πονηρῶν εἰσενεχθεῖσα δαιμόνων. Ἐπὶ δὲ τῆς γενεᾶς τῆς ἡμετέρας καὶ τρίτος τις ἐπενοήθη τρόπος, καινός τις καὶ παράδοξος, καὶ πολλὴν ἔχων ἀπορίαν τοῖς βουλομένοις τὴν αἰτίαν εὑρεῖν. Εἰσὶ γάρ τινες οἳ γάμου καὶ συνουσίας χωρὶς κόρας ἀπειρογάμους ἀγόμενοι, καθίζουσιν οἴκοι διὰ παντὸς, καὶ εἰς ἔσχατον γῆρας ἑαυτοῖς συγκατακλείουσιν, οὔτε ἐπὶ παιδοποιίᾳ οὐ γάρ φασιν αὐταῖς συγγενέσθαι, οὔτε ἐξ ἀκολασίας λέγουσι γὰρ αὐτὰς ἀκεραίους διατηρεῖν· ἀλλ' ἐάν τις ἔρηται τὴν αἰτίαν, ἔχουσι μὲν πολλὰς καὶ μεμελετήκασιν, εὔλογον δὲ, ὡς ἔγωγε οἶμαι, οὐδὲ μίαν, οὐδὲ σεμνήν. Ἀλλὰ μήπω περὶ τούτων, μηδὲ τὰς ἐκείνων τέως λέγωμεν προφάσεις, ἀλλ' ἣν αὐτοὶ μάλιστα ὑποπτεύομεν εἶναι, ταύτην εἰς μέσον ἀγάγωμεν. Τίς οὖν ἐστιν αὕτη; πάντως δὲ, εἰ διαμάρτοιμι τοῦ σκοποῦ, ἔξεστιν ἐπιλαβέσθαι τοῖς βουλομένοις ὑμῶν. Τίς οὖν ἐστιν ἡ πρόφασις; ∆οκεῖ μοί τινα ἡδονὴν ἔχειν τὸ γυναιξὶ συνοικεῖν, οὐ νόμῳ γάμου μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ γάμου καὶ συνουσίας χωρίς. Εἰ δὲ οὐκ ὀρθῶς δοκῶ, λέγειν οὐκ ἔχω· τὴν γὰρ ἐμαυτοῦ τέως ὑμῖν διηγοῦμαι γνώμην· τάχα δὲ οὐ τὴν ἐμαυτοῦ μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν αὐτῶν ἐκείνων· ὅτι γὰρ καὶ ἐκείνοις οὕτω δοκεῖ, δῆλον ἐκεῖθεν. Οὐ γὰρ ἂν τοσαύτης κατεφρόνησαν δόξης καὶ τοσούτων σκανδάλων, εἰ μὴ σφοδρά τις ἦν καὶ τυραννικὴ τῆς συνοικήσεως ταύτης ἡ ἡδονή. Εἰ δέ τινες δυσχεραίνοιεν ταῦτα λεγόντων ἡμῶν, παραιτήσομαι συγγινώσκειν ἡμῖν, καὶ μὴ ἀγανακτεῖν· οὐ γὰρ ἑκὼν οὐδὲ ἁπλῶς τὴν ἀπέχθειαν ἀναδέξασθαι ταύτην εἱλόμην· οὐχ οὕτως ἄθλιος ἐγὼ καὶ ταλαίπωρος, ὡς εἰκῇ βούλεσθαι προσκρούειν ἅπασιν· ἀλλ' ὀδυνῶμαι σφόδρα καὶ ἀλγῶ καὶ τὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ δόξαν ὑβριζομένην ὁρῶν, καὶ τὴν τῶν πολλῶν σωτηρίαν κατὰ μικρὸν ὑπορρέουσαν διὰ τὴν ἡδονὴν ταύτην· Ὅτι γὰρ ἡδὺ τοῦτο καὶ τοῦ νόμῳ γάμου συνοικεῖν δριμύτερον ἔχει τὸν ἔρωτα, νῦν μὲν ἴσως καὶ θορυβεῖσθε ἀκούοντες, μετὰ δὲ τὴν ἀπόδειξιν καὶ αὐτοὶ συνομολογήσετε. Ἐπὶ μὲν γὰρ τῆς ἐννόμου γυναικὸς ἡ μῖξις ἀκώλυτος οὖσα, τόν τε πόθον παρεμυθήσατο καὶ εἰς κόρον τὸν ἄνδρα πολλάκις ἤγαγε, καὶ τὴν σφοδρὰν κατέλυσεν ἐπιθυμίαν. Καὶ χωρὶς δὲ τούτων καὶ ὠδῖνες καὶ τόκοι καὶ παιδοποιίαι καὶ παιδοτροφίαι, καὶ τὰ ἐκ τούτων ἑπόμενα συνεχῆ νοσήματα, πολιορκοῦντα τὸ σῶμα καὶ μαραίνοντα τὸ ἄνθος τῆς ὥρας, ἀσθενέστερον τὸ κέντρον ἐργάζεται τῆς ἡδονῆς. Ἐπὶ δὲ τῆς παρθένου οὐδὲν τούτων ἔνι· οὔτε γὰρ μῖξίς ἐστι τὸν οἶστρον τῆς φύσεως δυναμένη χαλάσαι καὶ κατενεγκεῖν, οὔτε ὠδῖνες καὶ παιδοτροφίαι τὴν σάρκα μαραίνουσαι, ἀλλ' ἐπὶ πολὺ διασῴζουσι τὴν ἀκμὴν, ἅτε ἀνέπαφοι μένουσαι.

Ἐντεῦθεν τῶν μὲν γαμουμένων μετὰ τοὺς τόκους καὶ τὰς παιδοτροφίας ἀσθενέστερα τὰ σώματα γίνεται, αἱ δὲ καὶ εἰς τεσσαρακοστὸν ἔτος μένουσιν ἁμιλλώμεναι τῶν παρθένων ταῖς θαλαμευομέναις· ὅθεν διπλᾶ τὰ τῆς ἐπιθυμίας ἐγείρεται τοῖς συνοικοῦσιν αὐταῖς, τῷ τε μὴ συγχωρεῖσθαι τῇ μίξει τὸν πόθον παραμυθεῖσθαι, καὶ τῷ μένειν ἐπὶ πολὺ τοῦ πόθου τὴν ὑπόθεσιν ἰσχυροτέραν. Ταύτην ὑποπτεύω πρόφασιν εἶναι ἐγὼ τῆς ὁμοσκηνίας ταύτης. Ἀλλὰ μὴ ἀγανακτῶμεν πρὸς αὐτοὺς μηδὲ δυσχεραίνωμεν· οὐδεὶς γὰρ τὸν κάμνοντα